A while back I spoke about inspiration and 'where authors get their ideas from'. The book cover for "Games of Adversaries" shows two beautiful ladies above a spaceship at an obviously bad angle, and beneath that, a hunk with an axe.The novel is about contrasts and there are certainly a few on that cover. I mean, what exactly is the hunk going to do with that kind of weapon against a spaceship? And why are there women on the cover when the main story is about men?Why did I write a story about some holier-than-thou prince who danced?It's quite simple. When you are thrown to extremes, how do you survive? Yes, that's another question, but that was the question which inspired the story.Have another picture.

Photo credit to Patrick Moulden.I've mentioned before that there are references to PTSD (post traumatic stress syndrome) within "Games", even if they are not hit over the head kind of references. The reason I posted this picture? Contrasts. Take a young Canadian soldier and throw him into an alien world. We think, because we have 'social media', that we know everything. That once we 'wiki' we know all there is to know about another culture because, well, we can read about it, research it, look at pictures, watch films. We do all that at the touch of our fingertips. We don't 'live' it.This isn't just about Afghanistan in particular. Soldiers the world over are thrown into conflicts with no true knowledge, just orders, a love of their country, and a desire to protect it.Although I began "Games" before I personally knew a soldier who went to Afghanistan, when it came to polish the words, I knew that this is what the story is about. Because another country, to many of us, is an alien world. "Games" is all about that.From our safe computer chairs and our laptops, could you survive? What would drive you to overcome horrendous odds, injury and terror? It's no computer game, believe me.So I took two young men and turned their worlds upside down. From one, I took everything he believed in. From the other I took the love of his life. See if they both survived in "Games of Adversaries" and wonder if you might have done the same.Please feel free to tell me why you wrote your current novel.

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Why I wrote my novel? Each of my novels has a different genesis, but the one being released today, Dangerous Beauty, let me explore a young man's tension at having to choose between his family, his god, and the possibility of finding love and acceptance. Which things is he ultimately willing to give up? The main characters are gay men, which throws another wrench into the works. But I had a blast creating a story about love, faith, sex, politics, family bonds, and celestial mechanics. :D

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Susan

01/23/2013 4:18pm

Congratulations on the launch! I like the sounds of the 'celestial mechanics' *G* May you gain many readers; it sounds an intriguing tale.